China well set to withstand global slowdown

With contradictory opinions and returns pervading the industry, managers conclude where Asian decoupling is concerned it is a long-term story

This week's debate focuses on the outlook for the Asia Pacific ex Japan region. As western economies struggle with slowdowns and budget deficits, the Asian nations are arguably in a better financial position to weather the storms and there has been much talk of their decoupling from the west. But can this transfer into stock market performance or are the Pacific markets just as vulnerable to a bout of risk aversion? Speaking were Pinakin Patel, client portfolio manager at JPMorgan and Mark Smith, senior analyst at Andrews Gwynne. Where do you stand on the decoupling issue? How relia...